


Poor Boy

by BayKitCat



Category: Impulse (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics), Young Justice (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:21:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21909637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BayKitCat/pseuds/BayKitCat
Summary: Bart has an emotional breakdown, and the rest of the core four tell him what he means to them.
Relationships: Bart Allen & Cassie Sandsmark, Bart Allen & Kon-El | Conner Kent, Bart Allen & Tim Drake
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	Poor Boy

Recently, Bart's home life had been a hectic mess: dealing with Max's disappearance, moving in with Jay and Joan (Two people who were kind, but could never replace Max), and being apart from the Manchester Alabama gang. He tried to hide it, but all of these things were taking their toll on him, and the pressure Wally was putting on him to act like a "responsible" teenager didn't help either. Then there was Tim, Kon, and Cassie. Ever since Donna Troy's death, they'd been treating him like they didn't want him around. All of this was piling onto him, and he could barely breathe, let alone smile and act like everything was fine.

One day, he had been sitting in his room in the tower, talking with Preston and Carol on the phone, when there was a knock on the door. He couldn't help the frown that formed on his face as he quietly said goodbye to the two people who felt like his only real friends left, before he got up and forced himself to jog to the door, pretending to be at least some version of who he used to be. When he opened the door, he was met with urgent looks from Tim, Kon, and Cassie. They didn't even have to say it, really. It felt like the only time when he saw them now was when they "needed" him, and here they were, with grimaces that sent his heart down onto the floor.  
Tim opened his mouth to speak, but Bart had already put his costume on and was heading downstairs, yelling,  
"So, what's the 411?" 

His superspeed had provided a rare opportunity to breathe in the recent months, which was something he sorely needed. Since they'd all joined the Teen Titans, and especially since the incident with Deathstroke-Jericho. While the rest of the team would come down the stairs, he'd take the time to sort through his anxieties (or at least to push them down), and on the worst days, he'd cry. Now, as they followed him, he let a few small tears worm their way down his cheeks, wiping them away before they stood before him, glaring straight into his soul. It was unexpected, yet expected all at once when Tim chided him. His friend's face twisted in slow motion as Bart felt his anxiety and insecurities seeping into his skin, the mouth forming words he wished he couldn't hear.  
"Bart, would you stop doing that!?" the other boy scolded, before sighing, "It's getting to the point where it's frustrating."  
It wasn't a lot, and Bart knew Tim didn't mean anything by it, but these words sent him over the edge as he couldn't stop the tears that fell down his face at an exceeding rate. His body couldn't hold him upright anymore, and he crumpled against Tim, who held him as as surprise came onto his face. Finally, after months of holding in his feelings and avoiding these people who he'd once looked at as his family, he'd broken down. Words came out of his mouth that he didn't hear, drowned out by the roar of his heartbeat in his ears. The only words he was able to hear were the last words that fell out of his mouth.  
"I'm not a child!" He screamed, his vision blurry from the tears still streaming down his cheeks.  
Even though he expected them to walk off and leave him, they did the exact opposite. Tim rubbed Bart's arms comfortingly, his own arms tightly around the boy who was weeping furiously, and his chin resting on his head. Cassie came around from the left side and Kon from the right side of the two, and joined in on the hug. They sat in complete silence, save for Bart's gasping weeps, as they let the boy calm down. Every single one of them held onto Bart as though he were about to disappear.

Once Bart had cried as much as he needed, the four pulled apart. The other three looked at Bart with sorrow in their hearts, seeing how much they had inadvertently hurt their best friend. There was so much on the tips of each of their tongues, ready to spill out with the same hopeless abandon that Bart's own words had come out.  
Cassie went first, leaning forward once more to ruffle the huge hair of her friend, and grabbing his hand to hold.  
"Bart," she started, willing herself to look into his broken eyes, "I think I speak for all of us when I say how sorry I am, and how much I must've fucked up to make you feel so unwanted. I love you so much, my dude. You're the brother I never had, and I never thought I would have. You are an absolutely amazing person," she stopped, at a loss for words.

Tim continued where Cassie had left off, his chin resting on Bart's head once more.  
"You're so weird too. In the best way. You can't read the emotions on someone's face, and aren't what anyone could call empathetic, but you are still able to care so much about everyone. That makes us care about you too. You are an infinite pool of caring and kindness, and that doesn't make you a child. We're the one's who fucked up, Bart. We fucked up when we started to forget how much you care, and forget how you really are an emotional being, and that every word we say has an impact on you and the way you think about yourself. We will spend the rest of our time with you, making sure we never fuck up like that again."  
His sentences roared like a waterfall of love, reassuring Bart in his place with them.

Finally, Bart felt more tears prick at his eyes when Kon took hold of his other hand. He didn't look straight at Bart, but when the boy looked over at him, he saw his eyes staring intensely down at the floor.  
"Wow. Bart. I can't believe we made you feel this way," he started, the sound of his grinding teeth ringing in Bart's ears, as he threw his weight back onto his arm behind him.  
"We are total shit friends. If anything, Bart, we don't deserve you and all of your amazing-ness. You give us nothing but kindness and care, and in return, what have we done? We made you feel like we didn't want you. That is not what good friends are supposed to do," he leaned forward toward Bart once more, cupping Bart's hand with both of his own, "If we ever," his brow furrowed, and he leaned his head against Bart's, "Ever make you feel like this again, tell us please. We will try our best on our own too."

Bart was then hugged by all three of his best friends, who held onto him as if he were a raft in the middle of a lifeless ocean. The tears were falling at full velocity now, running a trail down his flushed cheeks. He smiled his first real, true smile for the first time in a year, as they assured him together, "We love you, Bart."


End file.
